In an interview with Rossiya 1 TV, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied rumors suggesting that Russia wants to establish military bases abroad.
"This is absolutely not true' Lavrov said, commenting on rumors suggesting that Russia wants to establish military bases in the Seychelles, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cuba and Argentina.

"We do not have any plan to create naval bases abroad. We have significantly upgraded our naval fleet in Russia” said the foreign minister.

Rather than building permanent naval bases abroad Russia aims to establish logistics facilities for its naval ships.

A senior Russian military official has confirmed that Russia is in talks with a number of Latin American countries over the establishment of logistics facilities for its naval ships.

Russian Deputy-Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said "We would like to confirm that Russia’s military and military-technical cooperation with countries in the region is first and foremost geared towards maintaining stability and international security,”. “It is not aimed to harm anyone’s interests. We rely on our partners’ voluntary consent to develop long-term ties” said the deputy-defense minister.

Antonov explained that the Russian Navy would like to see simpler rules for its ships when visiting the region’s seaports to restock the ships with all the necessary provisions water, food etc. and find recreation opportunities for the crew; also, to find facilities where the ships can undergo minor repairs.

"With this in mind we are holding discussions with our partners in Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba; we would like to conclude agreements on establishing logistic facilities in their territories," the minister said. Russia’s long-range aircraft might also need similar services. However, none of such yet-to-be created facilities could be interpreted as military bases.

"We have no plans to establish permanent presence in Latin America. We have no such need," Antonov said.